Nafter the game is before the inventory. Joachim Löw will use this Thursday to sort out the situation of the German national soccer team. Where is the team of the German Football Association (DFB) twelve days before the first game at the European championship against world champions France in Munich? Which player is in which condition? And above all, what problems need to be resolved? Already on Wednesday evening after the 1-1 draw against Denmark in the penultimate test match before the European Championship, the national coach began to take stock. One thing is clear: there are still some construction sites for Löw.
On Thursday he will finally be able to welcome the last players in his squad to the training camp in Seefeld. Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Ilkay Gündogan, who played in the Champions League final in Porto last Saturday, are expected in Tyrol and complete the EM line-up of 26 players; Antonio Rüdiger from Chelsea FC arrived on Wednesday and was in the stands for the Denmark game in Innsbruck. On Friday morning, when public training continues in preparation for the EM, not everyone will be able to participate.
Emre Can suffers from an adductor strain that he contracted before the test session. He will probably have to sit out for another two or three days. Leon Goretzka will also not be on the lawn for the time being after his hamstring tore in his thigh. The FC Bayern player still needs a little individual training. In addition, Mats Hummels, who like Thomas Müller played in the DFB team for the first time since November 2018, has problems with the patellar tendon. “That sometimes hampers him a little in the sprint, but it’s not too tragic,” said Löw. After a day’s break, Hummels, who played 90 minutes against the Danes, should be back.
Meet Neuhaus and Poulsen
In the first part of the training camp, the national coach focused on the defensive. A 0: 6 against Spain in the Nations League in November or the 1: 2 against outsiders North Macedonia in the World Cup qualification in March had shown that there are serious problems in the DFB defense. That’s why Löw brought Hummels back. Against Denmark he was the left link in a chain of three with the central Niklas Süle and Matthias Ginter on the right. Then there were the more offensive full-backs Robin Gosens (left) and Lukas Klostermann plus the central defensive midfielders Joshua Kimmich and Florian Neuhaus, who scored the German goal to make it 1-0 in the 48th minute.
Afterwards, Löw explained his plan behind the arrangement and occupation. “I wanted to close the center well with three central defenders,” said the national coach. “We succeeded very well. That can absolutely be an option in the tournament. The measure of all things will be that we are able to play from zero and get a head start over the rounds. You can’t always run behind a deficit. ”This time there was actually no one, but one goal was conceded. Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen used the only chance the Danes had to make it 1-1 in the 72nd minute.
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